A Northumberland farm and a team of university students are taking on the major players in the growing plant-based drinks industry.
The Wilson family, owners of the 2,000-acre organic Ingram Valley Farm set in the Northumberland National Park, allowed four students reading agribusiness management at Newcastle University to use Ingram Valley Farm as the focus of their final year project.
After being given free rein to create a new product or make a change to the firm’s business, the group designed and developed a brand new oat milk product, which is now destined to be taken to market.
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Rebecca and Ross Wilson were so impressed with the glass-bottled oat milk the four Newcastle University students created that they have now started talking to firms in the drinks industry.
Mrs Wilson, whose husband Ross’ family have farmed the land in Ingram Valley since 1949, said: "Their product is remarkable, with its recyclable glass bottle design, beautiful branding and low carbon footprint, we fell in love with it straight away.
“We are now looking for a contract packer to work with us and make this concept a reality, in the hope we can get this high-end milk, with an emphasis on its sustainability and provenance, on to the retailers’ shelves.”
Almost a quarter of all Brits now choose plant-based milks, with sales of oat milk jumping 686% last year and by 1,946% in the last two years, according to research by the Good Food Institute and market research firm SPINS.
Mr and Mrs Wilson, together with his father Johnny, run a pasture-fed, outdoor-reared farm in the Ingram Valley with sheep, prime lambs, beef cattle and red deer. They also grow organic oats and barley, and hope the provenance of their product will set it apart from the likes of Oatly and Alpro already on the market.
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Charlotte Gregg, who has since graduated and secured a role as area manager for Aldi, said she and her university team wanted to focus on its local provenance.
Ms Gregg said: “On a visit to Ingram Valley we walked to the top of the hills where the view was breath-taking, and we took a photograph. We knew then that we wanted to develop a product that captured the provenance of the farm.
“That photo is used on the glass bottle packaging of the oat milk and represents the incredible origin of the product, sourced sustainably and responsibly in one of the most beautiful landscapes of the 海角视频.”
Last year Ingram Valley Farm became the first farm in the world to achieve certification to The Planet Mark, a programme that recognises commitment to the continuous improvement in sustainability, achieved by cutting carbon emissions through reductions in energy, waste, travel and procurement.
Mr Wilson added: “The oat milk really fits with our ethos and the students’ research proved to us that it has the potential to find its own niche in the growing market for milk alternatives.
“We are very proud of the work they presented to us and hope to find a contract packer, with the same values as ours, to take this concept and with our oats make it a saleable product.”